Richard Rocco Memorial

The Bernalillo County Arts Board solicits a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an artist or artist team to create a lifelike outdoor metal sculpture, preferably bronze, featuring the likeness of U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Richard Rocco. Rocco, originally from Albuquerque’s South Valley, was an U.S. Army medic that was responsible for saving the lives of several soldiers after his helicopter was shot down during the Vietnam Conflict in 1968. President Gerald Ford presented Rocco the Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military honor, in 1974. He was also a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. The sculpture will be installed at the Richard Rocco Memorial Park adjacent to the West Side Community Center, located at 1250 Isleta Blvd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105. The budget for the project is $200,000.00, all-inclusive, to create and install the artwork. The call is open to artists living in the state of New Mexico. 

Project Summary:

The Bernalillo County Arts Board solicits a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an artist or artist team to create a lifelike outdoor metal sculpture, preferably bronze, featuring the likeness of U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Richard Rocco. Rocco, originally from Albuquerque’s South Valley, was an U.S. Army medic that was responsible for saving the lives of several soldiers after his helicopter was shot down during the Vietnam Conflict in 1968. President Gerald Ford presented Rocco the Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military honor, in 1974. He was also a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. The sculpture will be installed at the Richard Rocco Memorial Park adjacent to the West Side Community Center, located at 1250 Isleta Blvd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105. The budget for the project is $200,000.00, all-inclusive, to create and install the artwork. The call is open to artists living in the state of New Mexico. 

Site Details:

The artwork will be installed within a designated area near an existing stone memorial to Rocco on the west side of the Richard Rocco Memorial Park adjacent to Isleta Blvd. The site address is 1250 Isleta Blvd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105. The sculpture must be located within the area outlined in on the maps provided in this RFQ. Please refer to the attached site plan and materials for more details.

Location/Context/History:

In the early 2000s, a group of Vietnam Combat Veterans formed the Richard Rocco Park Dedication Committee to advocate for a memorial in honor of Chief Warrant Officer, Richard Rocco, a medic who was shot down by the North Vietnamese in 1968. Richard Rocco was originally from Albuquerque’s South Valley. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor by President Gerald Ford. Rocco received the Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military honor, in 1974. He is also a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

In the early 2000s the Richard Rocco Park Dedication Committee raised funds for a memorial to Richard Rocco at the West Side Community Center, 1250 Isleta Blvd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105, in the South Valley of Albuquerque. The memorial consists of an engraved stone memorial, two park benches, three flags, American, New Mexican and POW-MIA, and lights for the flags and landscaping.

In 2015, the group was able to have the entire park adjacent to the West Side Community Center dedicated as the "Louis Richard Rocco Memorial Park". Additionally, a bronze bust of Richard Rocco, donated by the committee, was installed near the flags and the engraved stone from 2012 until 2024. In 2023, local veterans and Rocco’s family proposed relocating the bust to the Medal of Honor Room at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Angel Fire, New Mexico and shortly after the bust was moved.  After the bust was removed, in 2025, State Legislators allocated $200,000 in capital outlay funds to create a new life‑size bronze sculpture honoring Rocco at the West Side Community Center to replace the bust. The funding was received by Bernalillo County Parks in Recreation in 2026 to commission the new work of art. 

Project Intent/Theme:

The sculpture shall represent Rocco in a way that expresses the story of his heroic life-saving actions despite sustaining injuries from enemy fire.  The veterans consulting on the project will provide the selected artist or artist's team photographs and other materials to realize this vision. The statue shall be placed where it can be easily seen from the park side and the sidewalk next to Isleta Boulevard, and there should be easy access to the statue area following all ADA access regulations. Engagement will the veterans' community on the final design of the artwork is required.  The artwork must be extremely durable and low maintenance and to be able to withstand the harsh conditions of the high-altitude ultraviolet rays of the sun and the high winds and dust common in the area.

Project Funds:

$200,000.00 is available to commission the artwork. This amount is all-inclusive and includes all fees and expenses associated with the project, e.g., materials, time, artist fees, equipment, labor, permits, travel, installation, and written and professional photographic documentation of the completed project.

Timeframe (Subject to Change): 

• RFQ released: 11/2/2026.
• Deadline for Submissions: 11/24/26, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. MST
• December 2026: Jurying of Submissions
• January 2027: Semi-finalists invited to create designs/concepts
• February 2027: Semi-finalists present concepts to the Selection Committee
• March 2027: Finalist selected
• April 2027: Artist enters into contract and project begins
• June 2028: Deadline for installation of artwork

Please review and follow the image preparation guide on the CaFÉ website. 

Digital media on-line submissions must follow the CaFÉ image uploading requirements. This online process requires that all application images and materials be submitted in digital format. For digital image requirements please visit the “Image Prep” section at CaFÉ, (www.callforentry.org). 

Submit from three (3) to ten (10) images of previous work.

Digital images should include the artist’s name, artwork title, dimension/size, media, date of creation, and cost, in addition to any in-kind consideration. 

Artist name and address must be on every page of any documents that are submitted. All word and quantity limits must be followed for submission materials. 

1. Artist Statement
2. Artist Résumé
3. Questionnaire
4. A correspondingly numbered image key of each image use in the application must also be submitted including artist’s name, artwork title, dimension/size, media, and date of creation.
5. References

Important: This is regional RFQ open to artists living in the states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Texas. The jury will not consider submissions by artists residing outside of these states. 

This is a local call open to artists living in New Mexico.